Sailboat Size?

[CuriousDeafDude]

I've haven't learned how to sail yet but I do know what I want to do. I want to single hand and I wondered what's good size for single hand bluewater cruising.

[redbopeep]

Common for folks to want a boat that is good for single handing or 2 persons (which means 1 person sailing at a time, but better rested than the single hander...)

see http://www.cruiserlog.com/forums/ind...showtopic=7740

and you can search this forum for blue water, bluewater, etc.

As important as the boat design is the layout of the running rigging--you want lines coming back to the cockpit/helm station as much as possible to minimize time on the foredeck.

Good luck in your search!

[Wildernesstech]

Originally Posted by CuriousDeafDude

I've haven't learned how to sail yet but I do know what I want to do. I want to single hand and I wondered what's good size for single hand bluewater cruising.

Richard Henderson wrote a book about singlehanded sailing that lists all of the singlehanded circumnavigations and the boats that were used... The average of all of them is slightly over 32 feet in length. There is no one right boat for everyone, and certainly no right size for everyone, but you will find the right one (or two or three) for you.

David

s/v Friendship

[Aquaria]

Hi!

The size depends on two things.

First on the amount of money you want to spend and

second on the comfort you wish when cruising single handed.

There have been single handers on the way in 18ft boats - because of a low budget they lived on (thinking on "Shrimpy", Shane Acton sailed around the world many years ago, mostly single handed). But no comfort.

Nowadays even 32ft boats are even concidered to be small boats. And if you are not too tight on your budget you even find wondful new (an bigger) boats, designed for small crews or single handing.

The ability of single handing a boat is therefore not so much a matter of size, but more a matter of the layout of the cockpit, the interior and the rigging and sail-handling.

A serious blue water cruiser to start with at the lower end is the Pacific Seacraft "Flicka 20"

On the other high end, new, modern and for blue water sailing with small or no crew without compromizes, just look for the dutch built Atlantic yacht series from 36 to 51 ft ( www.atlanticyachts.nl ) as one example.

And it might be indeed a good idea to find out more about the boats, the single handers of the world have been under way with to get an idea about, what makes a boat capable to sail her alone.

And talk to sailors who actually sail alone. Ask for their experience.

Enjoy the time looking around!

Uwe

SY Aquaria

[imagine2frolic]

LEARN TO SAIL FIRST!!!!!!!, single-handing is tuff stuff, and especially if you are going coastal. No matter how many hands are aboard you will need to know how to sail. If it's your vessel it is your responsibility to know her like the back of your hand.....

Think about being thrown from the boat in the middle of the night. Think about being tossed across the salon, and ripping your skull open. Think about how useful a third hand would be when pulling the head off of the motor, and the list goes on.

Learn to sail, and sail in the snotty weather with a friend, or two. See how difficult things can get when you have others aboard. Then imagine yourself in 3 days of stormy weather, tired, hungry, cold, extremely hot & humid. When you are alone you can multiply that stress by 10.

If that doesn't worry you. Then may you be blessed on your endeavour. I have never done anything in my life that was more rewarding than single-handing, and yes the experiences above are my own, so I type from experience. Become effecient at sailing in all weather. Become one with your boat. Your boat will talk to you. She will let you know what she needs, and when she needs it. No matter how badly compressed your spine is. When she needs you. You have to come to her assistance now!

[redbopeep]

You make very good points! And, the learn to sail part FIRST! No matter where one is, one can get into a sailing dingy and learn the basics of sailing; or take a class if you're in a coastal area. Its harder to learn in a little tiny boat (dingy) than onboard anything with a cabin, so go have fun in something small first. Then, when you're sailing on a 20-something foot boat, you'll feel at ease and be able to assess things readily. You can crew for local racers, there are many volunteer things you can do that will expose you to sailing on ever bigger boats.

About size for cruising...

Our 54' boat (29 Ton) was originally designed with single handed sailing in mind. One man wanted to take his family sailing and didn't expect them to help out (wife plus 4 little children to keep track of). The boat was built way back in 1930 but yet he was thoughtful in selection of split rig, roller furling jib (yes, they had them back then, they just didn't roller-reef), self tending staysail, and all lines leading to a deep, secure cockpit. Oh, yes, also had a protected watch location in a low charthouse which later had a second steering station inside. He was "set" for his adventures without having to rely upon crew at all.

The story is the same for all boats--keeping yourself safe is first. The things that worry me about our relative large cruising boat for just the two of us to handle include fixing big, heavy things. To get the motor out of the windlass is a bear and a half. The weight and size of things, well, its sometimes a bit much. Takes bigger winches to handle the lines, etc.

When we were in search of a cruising boat, we met a couple in their late 60's who had been sailing a 52' split rig (I think a schooner) for a number of years. It was gaff rigged on both the foremast and main. This means even more lines even more complicated single-handing. I can't imagine it--no fixed backstay, having to deal with running backs along with everything else! They were selling the boat because, though they'd owned the boat for 20-30 years and were both comfortable raising those heavy spars and sailing alone during their watches, recently the wife had realized that she no longer had the real strength to do it (hubby had been raising the gaff booms/sails mostly, I guess) and wouldn't be safe on her own.

A split rig does get you to a bigger boat but also complicates things. Another fellow I know in his early 60's who has had a 33' sloop for many years and taken it to HI from CA several times, just recently purchased a 42' ketch. He's unable to manage all the sails on his own and has yet to leave the slip without another crew member on board. He's a bit unhappy about this and is trying to figure out what the problems are. In his case, he's having a hard time sailing the ketch, period. He's also having a hard time alone in just furling the large headsail the boat has out on a bowsprit. I suspect that he will probably end up changing the big headsail for something smaller to make his life easier.

The point of all my rambling is that "you never know" until you've done something if its going to work out for YOU. If you haven't tried sailing in a little dingy yet, you don't know your own aptitude for sailing in the first place. Its only after figuring out your own situation that you'll be able to grasp onto the things that will make YOUR life sailing better. Then, you'll have a lot of fun looking for just the right boat with all the right things for YOU!

Best of luck to you! We look forward to hearing of your progress as you go along.

[CuriousDeafDude]

To all who replied,

Thank you for all the advices. I am still searching for an chance to learn but it seems that all the mississippi folks are more interested in fishing and hunting than sailing (To all mississippi sailors, no offense intended). There are few yachts clubs here and I've email them but thus far, they have not contact me yet.

Richard

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by CuriousDeafDude

To all who replied,

Thank you for all the advices. I am still searching for an chance to learn but it seems that all the mississippi folks are more interested in fishing and hunting than sailing (To all mississippi sailors, no offense intended). There are few yachts clubs here and I've email them but thus far, they have not contact me yet.

Richard

Sailing is sailing, you can always start very small. As I've said previously, its actually harder to sail a small dingy than to sail a larger boat w/cabin. You could get yourself a Laser, Sunfish, Sabot, or other small boat to sail on a nearby river/lake. Learning on your own isn't bad as long as you're already comfortable in small boats.

Or, thinking outside the box, if the yacht clubs don't get back to you, simply get in touch with the boy scouts. They have a sailing merit badge. Find a scout with it and have the fellow do his "civic duty" and teach you how to sail!

Best regards,

Brenda aka Redbopeep

P.S. We're from Indiana (left there in 1982, though), and my hubby learned to sail in the Boy Scouts on a local lake there.

[Wildernesstech]

Originally Posted by redbopeep

Sailing is sailing, you can always start very small. As I've said previously, its actually harder to sail a small dingy than to sail a larger boat w/cabin. You could get yourself a Laser, Sunfish, Sabot, or other small boat to sail on a nearby river/lake. Learning on your own isn't bad as long as you're already comfortable in small boats.

Or, thinking outside the box, if the yacht clubs don't get back to you, simply get in touch with the boy scouts. They have a sailing merit badge. Find a scout with it and have the fellow do his "civic duty" and teach you how to sail!

Best regards,

Brenda aka Redbopeep

P.S. We're from Indiana (left there in 1982, though), and my hubby learned to sail in the Boy Scouts on a local lake there.

Oh my... I have about had enough! Brenda and I are also from Indiana! We left in 1982! What else; other than names, places, boats, a desire to cruise... do we have in common?

David

s/v Friendship

[Charlie Jones]

Originally Posted by CuriousDeafDude

To all who replied,

Thank you for all the advices. I am still searching for an chance to learn but it seems that all the mississippi folks are more interested in fishing and hunting than sailing (To all mississippi sailors, no offense intended). There are few yachts clubs here and I've email them but thus far, they have not contact me yet.

Richard

Noticed your nick name. A friend of mine is Charl DeVilliers, the "Silent Voyager". He was the first single hand deaf circumnavigator. He sails a 36 footer. Web site is-

http://www.silentvoyager.com/

Also, you might have some interest in a forum for people who tend to sail longer distances in smaller boat, called SailFar. Here's a link to the forums-

http://sailfar.net/forum/index.php

Most of those folks tend to disbelieve the notion that you MUST have a bigger boat to go cruising. Many are living aboard and cruising longer term on boats that are 30 feet and smaller. I think you may find some kindred spirits there.

Also- I might point out that the Mississippi coast is still very much recovering from Katrina and Rita. When we were through Biloxi a year ago, there was ONE marina out of five that was operating. The remainder wqere still in ruins. So that could well be the reason you haven't heard. I do know th Gulfport Yacht Club is just now getting back into full ( or close to full) swing.

[SeaVenture]

Richard,

My grandfather gave my aunt her first boat when she was nine and set her adrift on the river to learn to sail. From then on she always owned a sailboat; it's from her I inherited my sharpie as well as my love of the sport. Because I've been a dinghy sailor all my life, I'm comfortable sailing even our large boat--not that I'd want to single hand it, but at least I know if something happened to Michael, I could get us home.

[redbopeep]

Originally Posted by SeaVenture

Richard,

My grandfather gave my aunt her first boat when she was nine and set her adrift on the river to learn to sail. From then on she always owned a sailboat; it's from her I inherited my sharpie as well as my love of the sport. Because I've been a dinghy sailor all my life, I'm comfortable sailing even our large boat--not that I'd want to single hand it, but at least I know if something happened to Michael, I could get us home.

I've heard of numerous sailors who learned in much the same "sink or swim" fashion in a dinghy as a child. Great way for anyone--child or adult--to pick up sailing. Unfortunately, so many people feel they HAVE to get a big boat and "learn" on the big boat. Not necessary at all. Once the sailing has been mastered on a small boat, it is ever so much easier to sail a cruising sized boat and make sense of what's going on. The "big boat" sailing of a sloop or cutter is a piece of cake compared to a dinghy. Sure, size=momentum, etc, but unless you just happen to already own a big boat, I believe you can't beat the idea of starting out with small boat/dinghy sailing.

Fair winds

[redbopeep]

I wonder if CuriousDeafDude ever learned to sail and did so on a small boat.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, David took our small sailing dingy out and taught one of our powerboater friends (a liveaboard boater) a thing or two about sailing. Dingy sailing is awesome

[SCUBAKiwi]

I was just browsing old posts through the links at the bottom of threads and saw this...

I'm another deaf dude, I learnt to sail by constantly capsizing Optimist class sailing dinghys at the Te Waitere Boat Club as a late teen/early 20's in '98 through '04

The nice thing about starting with small boats is when they go over (when, not if) they can be put right side up and bailed out in the middle of the harbour. by the one guy who got pitched out of them